Films & Schedules
- Art

CAMERAMAN: THE LIFE AND WORK OF JACK CARDIFF

DIRECTOR: Craig McCall - UNITED STATES

Over his 70-year career, Jack Cardiff shot some of the most visually dazzling films in screen history, working for great directors like John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, and Michael Powell and earning equal praise from his leading men (John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston) and his leading ladies (Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn). Craig McCall’s accomplished documentary illuminates the cinematographer’s art and provides a rare insight into the workings of the movie world. With a wealth of interviews and glorious Technicolor film clips—including Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and even Rambo—this passionate tribute and rich film history...

Over his 70-year career, Jack Cardiff shot some of the most visually dazzling films in screen history, working for great directors like John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, and Michael Powell and earning equal praise from his leading men (John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston) and his leading ladies (Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn). Craig McCall’s accomplished documentary illuminates the cinematographer’s art and provides a rare insight into the workings of the movie world. With a wealth of interviews and glorious Technicolor film clips—including Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and even Rambo—this passionate tribute and rich film history comes especially alive on the big screen it celebrates. “We have to keep making films like this one.”—Martin Scorsese. (86 mins.)

CERTIFIED COPY

DIRECTOR: Abbas Kiarostami - FRANCE

This beguiling exploration of art and relationships, his first feature film made outside of Iran, sees Kiarostami producing his most accessible work to date. When an author (played by British opera singer William Shimell) comes to Tuscany to promote his book about the value of copied art, he encounters and spends a day with an antiques dealer (Juliette Binoche, Best Actress, Cannes Film Festival). As they walk, talk, and drive through the beautiful landscape, it at first appears as though they’ve never met. But as time progresses, mystery intrudes. Are they strangers playing the part of a couple, or are...

This beguiling exploration of art and relationships, his first feature film made outside of Iran, sees Kiarostami producing his most accessible work to date. When an author (played by British opera singer William Shimell) comes to Tuscany to promote his book about the value of copied art, he encounters and spends a day with an antiques dealer (Juliette Binoche, Best Actress, Cannes Film Festival). As they walk, talk, and drive through the beautiful landscape, it at first appears as though they’ve never met. But as time progresses, mystery intrudes. Are they strangers playing the part of a couple, or are they merely pretending to be strangers in the hopes of rekindling their relationship? (106 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Where is the Friend’s Home? (87), Close-Up (90), Through the Olive Trees (94), Taste of Cherry (97), The Wind Will Carry Us (99), Ten (02), Shirin (08).

In French, Italian, and English.

Sponsored by TV5Monde and French American International School, and with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

CHEKHOV FOR CHILDREN

DIRECTOR: Sasha Waters Freyer - UNITED STATES

Chekhov for Children tells the inspiring, charming story of the 1979 Broadway staging of “Uncle Vanya,” a heartbreaking play about middle-aged longing—by New York City fifth and sixth graders, under the direction of celebrated New York writer Phillip Lopate. Using a wealth of often amusing student-made films and videos from the time, mixed with contemporary interviews with some of the now middle-aged participants, Freyer, himself one of the students, explores the interplay between art and life for a dozen friends across three decades. “It is childhood which animates our adult lives, and it is through the arts that we all...

Chekhov for Children tells the inspiring, charming story of the 1979 Broadway staging of “Uncle Vanya,” a heartbreaking play about middle-aged longing—by New York City fifth and sixth graders, under the direction of celebrated New York writer Phillip Lopate. Using a wealth of often amusing student-made films and videos from the time, mixed with contemporary interviews with some of the now middle-aged participants, Freyer, himself one of the students, explores the interplay between art and life for a dozen friends across three decades. “It is childhood which animates our adult lives, and it is through the arts that we all connect to this living childhood within us.”—Sasha Waters Freyer. (74 mins.)

LOUDER THAN A BOMB

DIRECTOR: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel - UNITED STATES

Chicago’s “Louder than a Bomb” (LTAB) draws more than 600 high school students from 60 schools from all over the city’s diverse neighborhoods to compete in what is now the largest youth poetry slam competition in the world. Rather than emphasizing individual performances, however, LTAB is unique in judging teams, not individuals, forcing participants to work collaboratively with their peers. For many kids, being a part of such an environment is life-changing. In the tradition of Spellbound and Wordplay, this irresistibly gripping film gives us an inside look at four teams (and their star “slammers”) as they compete for the...

Chicago’s “Louder than a Bomb” (LTAB) draws more than 600 high school students from 60 schools from all over the city’s diverse neighborhoods to compete in what is now the largest youth poetry slam competition in the world. Rather than emphasizing individual performances, however, LTAB is unique in judging teams, not individuals, forcing participants to work collaboratively with their peers. For many kids, being a part of such an environment is life-changing. In the tradition of Spellbound and Wordplay, this irresistibly gripping film gives us an inside look at four teams (and their star “slammers”) as they compete for the top prize. But behind the engrossing competitive fervor lies the film’s true spirit: a warm celebration of a group of talented young poets finding their voice as they pour their angst, frustrations, hopes, and insecurities out through raw, unfiltered words. (99 mins.)

OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW

DIRECTOR: Sophie Fiennes - GREAT BRITAIN

German sculptor Anselm Kiefer’s manufactured landscapes and monumental installations are informed by one of the most provocative and rigorous minds in contemporary art. Fiennes’ striking film takes us into his singular world in exhilarating fashion, in the process creating a work as intriguing as its subject. Shot at Kiefer’s La Ribitte, his sprawling studio/estate in Barjac, France, which was once a silk factory, process and product find equal fascination. Here, Kiefer has worked on a series of elaborate installations and paintings—above and below ground—constructing and devising with earth, ash, gold, acid, glass, concrete, and lead; wielding blowtorches, brooms, and bulldozers...

German sculptor Anselm Kiefer’s manufactured landscapes and monumental installations are informed by one of the most provocative and rigorous minds in contemporary art. Fiennes’ striking film takes us into his singular world in exhilarating fashion, in the process creating a work as intriguing as its subject. Shot at Kiefer’s La Ribitte, his sprawling studio/estate in Barjac, France, which was once a silk factory, process and product find equal fascination. Here, Kiefer has worked on a series of elaborate installations and paintings—above and below ground—constructing and devising with earth, ash, gold, acid, glass, concrete, and lead; wielding blowtorches, brooms, and bulldozers as need be; and orchestrating a fleet of assistants—all with a magic creativity. “At once the place where his paintings and sculptures are housed and displayed, and a colossal, evolving architectural artwork in itself.”—Peter Bradshaw. (105 mins.)

POETRY

DIRECTOR: Lee Chang-dong - SOUTH KOREA

A sharp critique of Korean society’s inability to grapple with deep social problems, Poetry tells the story of a woman trying to find the poetry of her own life. Mija, a quiet woman in her sixties, works as caregiver for an elderly disabled man. In the early stages of dementia, she leads a simple existence centered on watching over her troubled grandson. When the boy’s behavior leads to horrible tragedy, the crisis sends her into an existential downward spiral, and she turns to her newfound interest in writing poetry for solace and guidance. As in Lee’s previous works, Poetry explores...

A sharp critique of Korean society’s inability to grapple with deep social problems, Poetry tells the story of a woman trying to find the poetry of her own life. Mija, a quiet woman in her sixties, works as caregiver for an elderly disabled man. In the early stages of dementia, she leads a simple existence centered on watching over her troubled grandson. When the boy’s behavior leads to horrible tragedy, the crisis sends her into an existential downward spiral, and she turns to her newfound interest in writing poetry for solace and guidance. As in Lee’s previous works, Poetry explores the human capacity for inexplicable violence and how our worst failings can define and shape our shared moral landscape. (139 mins.)

THE WOODMANS

DIRECTOR: C. Scott Willis - UNITED STATES

“Francesca Woodman’s haunting black and white images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and George Woodman (she a ceramicist and he a painter/photographer), Francesca came to New York with the intention of setting the art world on fire. But in 1981, at 22, she committed suicide. Beautifully interweaving Francesca’s work with interviews with her parents, who have nurtured her reputation while continuing to make art of their own, the film grapples with disturbing issues such as parent-child competition and the toxic level of...

“Francesca Woodman’s haunting black and white images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and George Woodman (she a ceramicist and he a painter/photographer), Francesca came to New York with the intention of setting the art world on fire. But in 1981, at 22, she committed suicide. Beautifully interweaving Francesca’s work with interviews with her parents, who have nurtured her reputation while continuing to make art of their own, the film grapples with disturbing issues such as parent-child competition and the toxic level of ambition that fuels the New York art scene. Says Betty Woodman succinctly: ‘She’s the famous artist, and we’re the famous artist’s family.’”—Film Forum. (82 mins.)